18 April 2026; Denise O’Sullivan of Republic of Ireland in action against Martyna Wiankowska of Poland during the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Poland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
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Professional football is a results game and always will be
Profit and losses won’t do it for any owners
Cathal Dervan, Editor
Managers come and managers go but one constant remains the same in football no matter what the latest trend is - normally managers do not get sacked for winning matches.
The word ‘normally’ is important here because so much of what passes for conventional wisdom in professional football these days is not normal.
It’s certainly not normal behaviour to light fires in the four corners of your training ground at the start of the biggest week of the season - as Arsenal did recently.
It’s hardly normal for a manager to effectively bait his employers and dare his club to sack him - as Rueben Amorim did with Manchester United back in January.
Likewise circling the ball and the referee before kick-off, a mark of respect to the ball on the part of his players apparently, was one of the peculiarities allowed by Liam Rosenior not long after his appointment as Chelsea manager.
And it’s off the wall to internally suspend one of your own stars for two games - after he allegedly made a remark that may have been lost in translation back in Argentina - when you are fighting for your own future just weeks into your job.
They’re just two of the reasons why Rosenior’s exit as Blues boss on Wednesday afternoon hardly came as the biggest surprise of an English season full of managerial surprises.
And for all the talk from Chelsea’s BlueCo owners of a six year project when they brought Rosenior to Stamford Bridge from Strasbourg, another one of their clubs, their loyalty didn’t last long. Not surprisingly.
There are many Chelsea fans out there who are convinced that their American owners know little or nothing about soccer and even less about how to run one of the biggest clubs in England.
BlueCo’s clear policy of buying young players and tying them to long contracts before selling at a profit comes straight from their venture capital playbook but it has come back to haunt them in terms of losses in recent weeks when their team has clearly lacked experience and leadership.
That’s partly why those owners need to look in the mirror during their ‘process of self-reflection’ following the decision to part ways with Rosenior.
Choosing an inexperienced manager and signing inexperienced players has now come with a real cost to their Champions League aspirations, even if the FA Cup could still offer the Blues some silverware this season.
FIVE2FOLLOW
A struggle back to the dugout
Breaking Hearts with injuries
Euro qualifying switch
Liam - you’re time is up
No go Bruno
So one reality needs to come to the fore when they look for that lightbulb moment in the coming days and weeks - football is still a results business and always will be.
Chelsea have lost their last five games without scoring a goal, their worst such run since 1912. Rosenior lost 10 times in 23 games as boss, the fifth manager of the BlueCo era.
If he had won his last five games, he would still be the manager and the fans wouldn’t have turned on him as they did at Brighton on Tuesday night.
As Mick McCarthy regularly says, he’s never been sacked for winning matches. That tends not to happen - even if your owners are clueless Americans!
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Darryl and Cathal look ahead to the weekend's action in the League of Ireland Premier Division including the historic Derry City v Shamrock Rovers game at Celtic Park.
Roy Keane’s return to management may not go as smoothly as people think - if it ever happens - according to one of his former international players.
Shane Long played for Ireland under Martin O’Neill and Keane and the Irish Mirror reports on his views about any return to management for Keane in the current managerial climate.
Highlighting that management and coaching has changed since Keane left Ipswich in 2011, Long believes communication with modern players could be a problem for his former coach.
“It depends on whether he wants to or not,” Long is quoted as saying. “I think Roy Keane is doing a great job as a pundit as well. It’d be a shame to lose him off the TV and the one-liners saying what he thinks. He’s got such a good knowledge of the game.
“It’s that coaching is different as well. I think it’s hard. People realise, it’s harder than you’d think to get what’s in your head, out to the players and verbally tell them.
“I think that Roy might struggle with that because everything comes so easily to him in his head, and he can’t understand how other players aren’t doing it, but getting that across and really like dumbing it down for players, I suppose, he’s got that presence about him for a manager.
“He’s got the knowledge of the game, so why not? But at the moment I think he’s enjoying his time as a pundit.”
Long also backs his former Ireland team-mate Troy Parrott to make an impact back in England if he decides to quit AZ Alkmaar and Dutch football this summer.
Oisin McEntee’s breakthrough season at Hearts is at an end with a hamstring injury ruling him out of contention for the remainder of a thrilling title battle with Celtic and Rangers.
Hearts boss Derek McInnes has confirmed that the former Ireland Under 21 defender and Tomas Magnusson will both miss the rest of the run-in, starting with Sunday’s derby against Hibs.
Scotland’s Daily Record reports that scans on the injury picked up in a 3-1 win over Motherwell a fortnight ago have confirmed that McEntee needs surgery.
McInnes said: “McEntee’s gubbed. He’s out for the season. We always hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as it is because of how he was feeling. But unfortunately for us he does need an operation but it will keep him out for the rest of the season.
“Losing him and Tomas is a blow in the sense that they’re two powerful players, two brilliant competitors and two boys that have done really well in their first season.
“But as harsh as it sounds I can’t dwell on that, I’ve got to just deal with the players that are available to me. It’s tough for Oisin and Tomas but you know they’ve played their part to get us to this stage, it’s up to us now to try and finish it off for them.”
Hearts are currently one point ahead of Rangers and three clear of Celtic.
As Ireland look to qualify automatically for the 2028 European Championships, which they will co-host with England, Scotland and Wales, future hopes could be boosted by a change to the qualification system.
UEFA are currently debating a new format for qualification with their member associations with a Nations League type format under consideration but this will only kick-in after the 2028 finals which will include games in Dublin.
The Irish Examiner reports that a final decision on any revamp will be taken by the Uefa executive committee in Istanbul before next month’s Europa League final.
Bournemouth’s outgoing boss Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic are in the frame to replace Liam Rosenior as Chelsea boss according to a report on the BBC Sport website.
Rosenior, just months into a long term deal, was sacked on Wednesday afternoon after just 106 days in charge at Stamford Bridge, the axe falling after the 2-1 defeat against Brighton.
That was Chelsea’s fifth consecutive league defeat without scoring, their worst scoreless run since 1912.
Bruno Fernandes will be a Manchester United next season - and the club may well exercise their option to extend his contract for another season after that.
That’s the claim made by the Irish Sun newspaper, just months after the Red Devils seemed ready to accept a near £80 million offer for the Portuguese midfielder from Saudi club Al-Nassr.
The paper says club figures have this time stressed to Fernandes that they do not want him to leave under any circumstances.
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